World Dairy Expo

Safe, top quality milk is the goal of World Dairy Expo

by Patti Hurtgen, Hoard’s Dairyman Online Media Manager

With over 3,000 head of cattle entered in the 2014 World Dairy Expo, the milking parlor will be a busy place this week for both cows and exhibitors. The new facility is computerized and is significantly larger than the previous parlor.

I spoke with the two University of Wisconsin-Madison students who are the chairpersons of the Milk Barn, overseeing all milking activities for the duration of the show. Read more

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker joined World Dairy Expo and New Holland to slice the ribbon on the New Holland Pavilions.

by Maggie Seiler, 2014 Editorial Intern

After months of planning, discussion and round-the-clock construction, the New Holland Pavillion ribbon cutting ceremony this morning ushered in a new era for World Dairy Expo. As the scissors sliced through the blue ribbon, representatives of the contributing parties celebrated a job well done.

The speakers during the event noted how exciting it has been to watch the project come together and see the collaboration across the groups that made this happen.

“We are very proud of this building,” noted Abe Hughes, vice president of New Holland, North America. “We believe the animals needs have been met by this facility.” Read more

It was a battle between the Badgers and Big Red for the blue.

by Amanda Smith, Hoard’s Dairyman Associate Editor

2014 University of Wisconsin-Madison

Tie was the word of the day at the National Collegiate Dairy Judging Contest. This year marked the third-ever tie for first place in the contest’s 94-year history. Previous ties for first occurred in 1985 between Cal Poly and the University of Wisconsin-Madison and in 2011’s contest between Cornell and Virginia Tech. Read more

Morrisville State College emerged as the handy winner

by Abby Bauer, Hoard’s Dairyman Associate Editor

A pair of schools from the state of New York judged their way to the top of the 26th annual International Post-Secondary Dairy Judging Contest at World Dairy Expo. Morrisville State College Team A (above) finished ahead of second place SUNY Cobleskill, as team members Evan Castrogiovanni, Alton Rudgers, Logan Martin and Drew Hill won the competition by a decisive 65 points.

Following in third and fourth were two California schools. Modesto Junior College captured third place honors, while Merced Community College finished in fourth. Michigan State University Ag Tech rounded out the top five. Read more

The stars aligned at the National 4-H Dairy Cattle Judging Contest for Wisconsin’s Jordan Seimers. With both a top placings award and a high reasons victory under his belt, Seimers’ fate was sealed as the contest’s top individual. Seimers not only saw the cows well yesterday, his reasons backed up his placings as he averaged 46.6 points and scored 716 overall. Seimers led the pack by far, 26 points ahead of the contest’s second place individual, Lucas Moser of Michigan. Ella Jackson of Ohio claimed third place honors, breaking a tie for fourth with her reasons score. Read more

There is no dress rehearsal for World Dairy Expo this year. The first event ever held in the recently constructed New Holland Pavilion at the Alliant Energy Center is the “greatest dairy show on earth.” The old barns were demolished and the two-barn facilities broke ground in April of this year, immediately following the Midwest Horse Fair, one of Madison’s annual signature events.

There is one main aisle and all cattle are stalled to the left or right off the center row. This area will be for human traffic only. Cattle will enter and exit the buildings from numerous overhead doors on each side of the building, but are not to cross the center aisle. This will keep people and cattle from intermingling in a fairly confined area and the walkways free of manure.

All wash racks and manure storage areas are on the outside of the buildings under cover, alternating along the entire length of both sides of the barn. Read more

Annually the city hosts 190-plus 4-H Dairy Conference delegates from across the nation, as they delve into the industry’s history.

by Amanda Smith, Hoard’s Dairyman Associate Editor

For many years it has been the pleasure of the Hoard’s Dairyman staff to work with the National 4-H Dairy Conference’s youth delegates. Today, we, along with National Dairy Shrine and Nasco, were privy to host 208 4-H youth and adults that arrived in Madison, Wis., Sunday for the National 4-H Dairy Conference.

For many of them, coming from close to 30 states, it’s their first time venturing to Wisconsin, and for some it’s the first opportunity they have had to travel outside their state’s border. Read more

From concept to cover: how we created this year’s gatefold

By Amanda Smith, Hoard’s Dairyman Associate Editor

On the Saturday of World Dairy Expo, the theme for the following year’s event is announced. As 2013’s “Center of the Dairy Universe” drew to a close, the artwork for “Designer Dairy” was unveiled. From that time, our staff has 10 months to come up with our interpretation on the latest theme. The design or image that is crafted then graces the cover of our September 10 World Dairy Expo Supplement.

Found in the center of your September 10 issue, this year’s gatefold cover was composed and photographed by our art director, Ryan Ebert. He estimates that between, sketching and brainstorming, dying and drying the shavings, the photo shoot and finalizing the design, 30-plus hours of work were wrapped up in this year’s cover. To see what went in to our cover creation process, Ebert put together the video below: Read more

Nearly 300 individuals converge on Fort Atkinson for judging practice

By Patti Hurtgen, Hoard’s Dairyman Online Media Manager

Nearly 300 attended the judging workout at the Hoard’s Dairyman Farm on Sunday morning. Hoard’s Dairyman magazine and farm staff prepared three classes of cows for the judges to evaluate. Teams representing 4-H, post-secondary (2-year technical colleges) and university teams and coaches took the opportunity to get in some last-minute practice before the national contest tomorrow at World Dairy Expo. Read more